


Life Jacket

by dhyanshiva



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Minor Character Death, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:54:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25989295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dhyanshiva/pseuds/dhyanshiva
Summary: Ellie would never have imagined anything like this taking place around a year ago. Not even close. Bridges so ruthlessly reduced to ash had only just begun forming once more, each side taking turns to lay down a brick. It would take time of course but something told her this would accelerate their effort. She took her seat next to Tom and waited for Alec to speak.
Relationships: Alec Hardy & Daisy Hardy, Alec Hardy & Ellie Miller, Beth Latimer/Mark Latimer, Daisy Hardy & Chloe Latimer
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Life Jacket

**Author's Note:**

> For Marine (worstcopinbritain)
> 
> I wish we'd seen more of the father - daughter relationships in this show and this is where the piece has emerged from, I guess. Seeing as I'd written from Alec's perspective in the previous piece - not sure what to title this series as of now - I couldn't exactly utilise him again. I revisited 'Broadchurch' recently and Ellie's bright orange coat was a character in itself. My interpretation of its use throughout Season 1 convinced me that Ellie Miller was the best character to act as the narrator for the events that take place in this piece.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Dhyan

For the first time in months, the workload had lessened ad everyone had left by 5. Ellie and Hardy were the last ones to pack up, as always. They’d just been about to head home, when her phone rang, the cheery ringtone startling Hardy in an otherwise silent station. Daisy? At this time of day? Why not her own father? Quickly, she accepted the call and was startled to hear a terrified ‘Aunt El?’ on the other end of the line. Her worry increased tenfold. Ellie could hear distraught screams from somewhere around her. Hardy was making to leave so she grabbed his sleeve and motioned for him to shut up before he could protest.

“Aunt El? It’s Chloe. You – you need to come down to the beach, like, right now. There’s a body and.. and Daisy thinks it’s DI Hardy, she’s a mess. You –”

“We’ll be right there, love.”

Ellie couldn’t make sense of anything but that the girl mentioned the man who was standing in front of her at that very moment was perplexing. Grabbing her trusty orange anorak, she ran out of the station, her boss following her silently. Within 10 minutes, they’d made it to the parking lot at the overpass, Hardy bugging her for information the whole time. Not wanting to alarm him, she hadn’t divulged a single detail. Yes, it only served to alarm him further, but she strongly suspected hearing Daisy and body in the same sentence wouldn’t go down well at all. Like, ‘panic attack’ not well. Clearly wanting to find out things for himself, Hardy had all but thrown himself out of the vehicle as soon as she’d killed the ignition. Ignoring her calls to slow down, he ran towards the beach and within moments, she’d caught up to him.

There, in front of them was a sight that stopped her heartbeat for a few moments. Chloe was all but dragging Daisy away from the form of a still man, their phones discarded on the sand. It had been her boss’ daughter’s screams she’d heard on the phone but now, only minutes later, she was silent and evidently in shock. Daisy Hardy appeared to be on the brink of collapse, her eyes refusing to leave the body. Hardy cursed from beside her, accent so thick she could barely make out his murmurs. Ellie had never seen him openly distraught like this, so she took it upon herself to get Chloe’s attention. As she saw them, yes, both her _and_ Hardy, Ellie saw her eyes widen and she tried to get Daisy to focus. With trepidation, she walked towards them, her boss (and friend) a few steps behind her. As they got closer, the pair caught onto what Daisy was repeating over and over, the chant becoming increasingly frantic.

“No, no I can’t lose Dad, not again, not like this. Dad, dad, no –”

They came to a stop before them and Daisy’s gaze still hadn’t moved an inch from the body – she hadn’t even realised someone had approached them. Together, they crouched in front of the girls and Ellie reached out to clasp Chloe’s shoulder. The way she held her best friend reminded Ellie so much of her and Beth that it brought tears to her eyes. The worry was clear on Alec’s face – at this moment he wasn’t ‘DI Hardy’, he was a father – as he reached out to do the same for his daughter. She didn’t react to the touch on her shoulder and Ellie’s heart broke as she watched Alec try and find the right words to try and get her to come out of shock. At the end, he could only muster a rough ‘Darling’, anguish making his already prominent accent so much easier to distinguish. His voice was hoarse, thickened with unshed tears and Ellie couldn’t begin to fathom what was going through his head.

At that one word, Daisy Hardy’s gaze became focused once more though Ellie saw that she hadn’t yet registered that her father was in front of her. It sent a chill down her spine, to see her eyes so vacant and unseeing. Wordlessly, she squeezed Chloe’s shoulder and tilted her heady slightly. Understanding broke through her worried gaze and she pulled away, Alec taking the younger girl’s place immediately. While her boss was much less sombre outside of work, it was painful to see his guard come crashing down in this devastating situation. Then, to her immense surprise, Alec began to sing in Gaelic, the lilting tune of the song meaning it was most likely a lullaby. He held his daughter’s hand all the while and it was heart-breaking and tear inducing in equal measure. In this moment, Ellie was reminded of her own father singing to her back to sleep when she awoke with nightmares. As a child, she used to be terrified of swimming and a small mishap at the pool had made her so fearful it took years of work to overcome. Her father’s singing was akin to a life jacket, helping her stay afloat when the all-consuming dread of drowning took hold.

Alec was about to begin the lullaby for the third time when suddenly, Daisy turned to face her father. Reaching out, she cupped his cheek and Ellie swore she saw a tear trail down the Scot’s cheek at the gesture. Apparently, something clicked in her mind for the fog seemed to lift as she pulled away slightly. Alec didn’t react, watching her carefully. Ellie had hardly blinked before Daisy had leapt into her father’s arms, her sobs muffled as her face was buried in his shoulder. He didn’t hesitate to return the embrace and they stayed like that for a few moments before the young girl pulled away.

“If you’re here.. then who’s over there?”

Ellie’s grip tightened around Chloe’s hand and the four of them made their way over to the body. As they got closer, she saw Hardy stiffen. Ellie’s apprehension heightened as a gamut of emotions flitted across his already gaunt face. Only he stepped further to crouch next to the body – the rest of them were frozen in place. Daisy had grabbed Chloe’s other hand and Ellie stood dumbfounded: the body looked too much like her boss for this to make any sense.

“Miller, I need a pair of gloves.”

Hardy’s voice was taut though his face had gone ashen. Hands trembling, she pulled a pair from the packet kept in the pocket – having spent too much time around SOCO meant it became a habit to have some handy at all times and tossed it over. The snap of the glove against his wrist made her flinch and she watched as he pulled out the man’s wallet and flipped it open. Daisy must’ve caught onto something in his expression for she rushed forward to prop up her father, glancing at the wallet as she did so.

“Adrian Hardy. Age 54. Get SOCO down here, Miller. Nothing suspicious, I believe, but I need to be sure. Procedural guidelines of course.”

Of course. Hardy. Must be a relative of his, likely a brother. In their years of knowing one another, he’d never mentioned any other family ‘cept is parents and daughter. His instruction was clear, but Ellie could see he was holding in his emotions with great difficulty. His daughter’s hand against his back appeared to be the only thing keeping him upright. Chloe hadn’t relinquished her grip on Ellie’s hand and the she was grateful for it – they were both drawing and giving comfort. She knew Alec and Daisy needed one another in a similar way right now. To give them so privacy, she led Chloe a little further away. The young girl was in a less severe state but must’ve come to a similar conclusion. She had no doubt this hit too close to home and the wounds were only just beginning to heal. She mad the necessary calls and for once, Brian wasn’t annoyed about being called in ‘after hours’ for she spotted him approaching with his assistant only minutes later. As the pair made their way over, she saw understanding dawn on the man’s face and his expression resembled something akin to sympathy. Hady barely glanced at him – as per usual – but nodded slightly at him as Brian handed him two evidence bags to put the deceased man’s phone and wallet into his pocket.

Ellie watched as Daisy helped her father to his feet and the pair made their way back to her and Chloe. Nothing would tear the girl away from her father and Ellie didn’t have the heart to leave them with their thoughts, their pain, in that blue house with no one for company. It hurt her more to see that Hardy didn’t complain at her driving the four of them to her house. Chloe had taken the passenger’s seat and father - daughter sat in the back – Daisy’s grip on Alec’s hand remained steadfast and the pair had followed Ellie into the house in silence. Tom and Fred were in the living room and Ellie hadn’t said a word before Tom had switched off the telly and went to the kitchen. As she settled everyone in the living room, she heard the familiar sounds of tea being made. Even Fred, who was usually one to demand either her or Hardy’s attention immediately, was silent and she was proud that he’d been able to read the room. Her son and boss shared a bond unlike any other she’d seen, and it brought tears to her eyes to see him rest his smaller hand on his. The touch pulled Alec out of his thoughts and he smiled softly at the little boy. Ellie had heard the sharp intake on breath when they’d first entered the room. Seeing their blond heads, the bonding between a pair of brothers would’ve added to the pain.

Tom returned with 4 mugs of tea and the group took them silently. Ellie didn’t know quite how to address the situation at hand, not when it was this personal and concerned her boss. A few minutes passed before she properly remembered that Chloe was with them. Of course, calling Beth would be her first course of action but something told Ellie that Mark would be the one his daughter needed to see. She sent him a text, knowing this couldn’t be explained however briefly over a phone call. 10 minutes later, she heard the doorbell chime and it was only when she pulled it open to welcome him in did Ellie realise she hadn’t removed her anorak. She choose not to even when leading Mark into the living room and watching Chloe hug her father just that little bit tighter, tears in her eyes.

Ellie would never have imagined anything like this taking place around a year ago. Not even close. Bridges so ruthlessly reduced to ash had only just begun forming once more, each side taking turns to lay down a brick. It would take time of course but something told her this would accelerate their effort. She took her seat next to Tom and waited for Alec to speak.

“Miller and I were about to leave the station when Chloe called from Daisy’s phone. They’d found a body on the beach and.. and it was my older brother. It looks like a cardiac arrest, plain and simple, seeing as we’ve got a history of heart problems in the family. It’s just, the girls, Daisy especially, shouldn’t have to see something like that and – well, here we are. I’m trying to figure out how to break the news to his wife and children when I can barely understand it myself. ”

Ellie saw a haunted look come into Mark’s eyes at the mention of Adrian’s family and sees his grip tighten around Chloe’s shoulder. She knows what he was thinking about. Voluntarily ignoring the life jacket on the boat, submitting himself to the chill of the water, to the unchangeable reality of death. That life jacket had no purpose for a man who felt as if he were drowning every moment of the day. Or so Mark had told Beth one evening after being released from the hospital. It had broken Ellie’s heart then and to see a shadow of the same pain on his face now brought tears to her eyes yet again. And with thinking about how close the Latimers had come to losing another family member because of Joseph’s actions made her think of the one they had lost. She let the conversation carry on without her as the tide of memories and emotions swept her under.

This very orange jacket had been an intrinsic part of her identity for as long as she could remember. People often joked about how they knew it was her from a mile away, a fact that made her incredibly happy. Up until her sick fuck of a husband committed such a horrendous, ghastly crime and turned her entire world to dust. The same jacket made her stick out like a sore thumb, its bright colours misplaced in a landscape of dulled colours. By strangling Daniel Latimer, Joseph Michael Miller had squeezed the life out of her community. People would actively avoid her, not that she blamed them. What she couldn’t deny was the pain and disappointment in their doing so. Everyone had turned their back on her and her sons. Everyone except Lucy, Hardy and her father. David Barrett and Alec Hardy didn’t get on all too well but in both of them she’d seen an unconditional love for their daughters. The same love that helped Hardy withstand the terrors of Sandbrook, the same love that helped her keep afloat in Broadchurch. It was this love that saw her through her darkest days, and she was thankful to see that hold strong between Mark and his daughters and more so between Daisy and Alec.

It had taken a few years but slowly, Ellie reclaimed the associations people used to make with the life jacket – orange anorak. There were numerous hurdles but with goals like found family and community in mind and the support of those who believed in her, she found that everything could be overcome. And that she’d succeeded in her trials by fire brought unparalleled relief. Now she wore the jacket with a beaming smile, and it was used solely to act as a buffer from the harsh winds and actual weather issues. Not as a barrier between her soul and the hostility directed at her for someone else’s actions. And for that, she was grateful. Taking Tom’s hand in hers as she looked around her, Ellie knew that they’d overcome these tides of pain as one. As a family.


End file.
